Family
by Ina-Hina
Summary: If Lief lost the final battle, how would everyone react? This story is to show there are two sides to every protagonist and that a villain can win. Bonds don't always pull you through. Lief, Barda and Jasmine need each other, and their families more than ever. Rated T for a very depressed Lief.
1. The Royal Family

**Hello, I'm Ina-Hina and I have a problem with updating stories. A terrible problem. **

**I'm so so so so so sorry my very few followers. I've been caught up with role playing and have been writing through that and you know how school is. It eats you alive. This is actually written for school so a big shout out to my English teacher. Ahahahahahaha–I'm going to pay for that one aren't I? Read and Review please! If you're wondering where my usual antics have gone, let me reiterate, ****written for school, not for home.**

_The breeze was a peaceful as usual, it carried the nostalgic scent of flowers along with it, causing the former king to sigh. The wind used to carry feelings of kindness and compassion behind it, it's warm embrace always welcomed. Now people ran from it for the wind was now a messenger of the Shadow Lord, a denizen of chaos. He felt it push against him, warning him to turn back, away from this hellhole. Oh course he didn't listen, he coudln't, for he did not have the right to do so. A long time ago... A very long time ago, he walked these streets with his head held high and his back straight. Now he was forced to shrink and bow down to those who should've been his inferiors. Once upon a time he donned robes embroidered with silver and lined with gold, only the finest jewels would satisfy him. The fairytale has ended with him begging on the streets for rocks to wash his tattered clothes with. He used to rule the world but now he was the lowest of the low, a street rat...And yet all he could do was sigh. "Death is easy but life... Life is the true challenge and I have failed in both of those tasks... But I must not allow them to suffer as I have done, not allow them to pay for my mistakes." His eyes opened, showing a clear crystal blue, full of determination and resolve._

He'd lost... Lief still couldn't believe all that had happened in the past few hours. They'd suffered a betrayal from one of their own and had fallen in the face of the overwhelming numbers. No unity, no bonds or comradeship could have saved them, he knew that now. Life wasn't a fairytale and he wasn't Prince Charming. He'd wanted peace so badly, he'd wanted the fight to be over but now... Now he just wanted to sleep and never wake up. As he contemplated whether to run and just leave the duties to someone else more suitable for the job, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Usually, he'd accept the comfort a helping hand brought but this was just not the time. He snarled, slapping the unknown person away only to find his mother looking at him with wide eyes.

"Mother..." He stepped towards her, only for the former queen to stumble back, fear entering her hazel eyes. "I-I..." Lief tried to plaster a smile on his face like he had done for everyone else who had tried to coax him out of the forge.

Sharn simply smiled, stroking Lief's hair affectionately. "I know Lief. Anyone would be like this after suffering a loss such as this," her face contorted in worry, her son had not been the same since the battle at the Royal Palace.

"Its not that..." The boy threw his hands up in frustration. "I just feel like we haven't been told everything. No, we haven't been told _anything_! What aren't you and Father telling me?" His eyes showed an expression that was unfamiliar to Sharn.

Desperation.

The former queen had lost many a nights sleep thinking about this very question. Had she and Endon made the right choice when concerning their son? Her own blood didn't even know her real name. His whole life, she'd been Anna and his father Jarrod. To suddenly tell him that his father, the humble blacksmith was actually King Endon and his common mother the Queen was not something that could be brought up easily. Speaking of humble blacksmiths...

"Lief," she tried to get his attention but it would seem that the boy had been lost in thoughts of his own. "Lief!" Sharn called louder this time, causing Lief to flinch and turn his attention towards her.

"Y-Yes Mother?" He stammered, obviously ashamed he'd been so caught off guard.

"Have you seen your father? I don't know where he's gone..." Her face creased in worry, making the woman seem much older than she really was.

Lief furrowed his brow. His father? _Actually... Now I think about it, I haven't seen him since the battle... Where is he? _

"I... No sorry, I haven't," he finally responded, looking dejected and full of sorrow.

This only served to increase his mother's anxiety, with the Toran quickly excusing herself, much to Lief's own worry. _Endon... My love, where have you gone? _The wind began blowing and the forge's very walls trembled. The storm had only just begun.

**And that is the end of chapter one! How many chapters? I dunno, about three? You know how I am with ending stories. Better I end it, lest it become like Boarding at Sengoku High or Falling the Right way... I swear, I've got half of the chapters written each but I just don't know how to end it. Please forgive me! Read and Review and if I get ten reviews I promise I will update within the month! **


	2. Lost and Found, Hurt and Comfort

_No matter how much time passed, nor the amount of pain he'd suffered while in that arena, there had always been one memory that stuck in this doomed mans mind. Her laughter, it had always remained in the back of his mind, at times comforting him and in his darkest moments... Haunting him. When he had first escaped from hell, he'd lain in pain, not even the most effective medicines could have possibly soothed him... That is, until he heard her voice. In a flicker of clarity, he latched onto the remnants of his sanity and climbed up from there, using that comforting voice as the foundation. It wasn't until he managed to mask himself that the true nightmare began. The laughter turned into screeches of pain, cries for help. The god forsaken man didn't know how to make it go away, to stop this incurable malady of his. It was then that he found his purpose, his raison d'être. If he could not gather up his own memories, then he would make sure no one else would suffer the same fate as he did. Even as the fragments of his life together this doomed mans goal still took priority. It was easier now though... Now he could see her face and hear her laughter ring through loud and clear, instead of the ghostly whispers that stalked him all those years ago. "So please... My beautiful little girl... Hide..."_

Jasmine kneeled beside her father, comforting him as he tossed and turned in his sleep. "You're getting worse..." She murmured to herself worriedly, trying to keep the man in one spot so she could apply the medicinal ointment.

The wild girl still couldn't believe it. Doom, _Doom_, her father? The same man she'd detested for the vast majority of their quest? When she had first discoverd it, she felt enormous guilt overcome her, after all Jasmine had said and done to him, did she deserve him? The question remained unanswered by anymore, least of all Jasmine herself.

"Ja... Jas...mine..." Doom was finally still, his hands reaching out for his daughter, crying out for her.

"I'm here Father. Please don't cry. I'm right here," she clutched his hand tightly, trying to ease some his pain.

"Hide... Hide Jasmine... They won't catch you in there..." He moaned, his grip almost hurting her.

"There's no need to hide anymore Father. They're gone–" Jasmine had to cut herself short.

What she'd just spouted was complete and utter nonsense, a lie. They were currently in the basement of a burnt down bookstore, _hiding _from the Shadow Lord and Fallow's Grey Guards. It was her childhood all over again, except this time...

"...This time we have each other..." Jasmine didn't know where the others were and at this stage, didn't really care.

After the battle, everyone in the Resistance had dispersed and seperared, including Lief, Barda and Jasmine. Lief had been so downtrodden and depressed about the loss he'd retreated to his old home, not talking to anyone but his mother, Barda had disappeared off the face of the planet, doing who knows what and everyone else was skulking in the shadows, trying to find an opportunity to run home. Jasmine thought of them as weak, the only reason she wasn't holding a knife against Fallow's neck was because she had her father to take care of. What reason did they have, the weak fools?! What worried her the most though was Fili and Kree. She hadn't seen them ever since the battle and it was seriously troubling her. What if someone had taken them? What if someone had killed them?

"This is why I never trusted humans. At the first sign of trouble they turn tail and run for the hills... They're all such idiots," she sighed, placing a hand on her father's cheek. "How did you and Mother ever put up with them Father?" As if hearing her question, Doom started moaning once again, having only just become silent.

"Jas...mine..." His eyes fluttered open, causing Jasmine to sigh in relief.

"It's alright Father, I'm right here..." The girl sobbed into her father's hand until suddenly, she felt her tears being gently wiped away.

"Why're... You... Crying?" Although his speech was disjointed and slurred, his eyes showed the sharpness that Jasmine had come to identify with Doom.

She gave him a small smile, quickly rubbing her eyes. "Crying? I don't know what you're talking about," she stood up and stretched. "I dunno about you but I'm thirsty. I'm going to get us some water, kay?"

Doom nodded but his expression was solemn. "Be... Careful..." Was all he could say before falling asleep.

Even so, Jasmine understood the message and gave him a peck on the cheek before heading out. Treading lightly up the stairs to the surface, Jasmine notes any unfamiliar activity and ventured outwards.

"I hope this won't take too long... It's be easier if we'd all decided to stick together," she muttered to herself, her expression scrunched up in frustration.

It was then a single droplet splashed onto her nose.

"What..?" She peered up into the sky. "It's raining..."

_How long will the storm last for this time I wonder..? _

Doom heard the rain cascade onto the building and lifted his head ever so slightly. "Run..."


	3. A Knights Duty

_A knight who cannot protect his King... What is he worth? A son without a mother, what hope does he have? Nothing, none at all. This lone knight stood infront of what used to be a place of comfort for him, praying. Who to, he wasn't sure of but what he wanted was more than clear to him. He wanted the land of Deltora and it's people to live in peace forever, in hopes that his mother too, would be able to rest peacefully. For the sake of his Kingdom, he'd slain more than he could've ever hoped to count, despite not all of these deaths being human, it still placed a heavy burden upon this soldiers heart. He just needed some guidance, someone to tell him that what he was doing was the right thing. Surely it was... Surely it was morally right of him to try and free the people..? The flip side of that was he was he led brave young men to their deaths, as any captain did. It was the price of being the strong, you must bear the burden of the weak. One day, just for one day, he would like to see the world through their eyes, to see their struggles and feel their pain. Despite being someone who proclaimed himself one of the people, truth be known, he had spent his life inside closed walls, isolated just as the kings and queens had been. The knight had promised himself that he'd know better than them, that he would connect with the people the way they could not...and yet..._

"I've learnt nothing!" Barda slammed his fist against the gravestone but quickly withdrew.

The rain continued to attack him but the lone man did not flinch, his eyes were solely fixed on what had been his object of his outburst.

"I am sorry Mother, I did not wish to take my anger out on you," he spoke softly, placing his forehead against the ground, asking for her forgiveness.

It had been so long since he had last seen his mother but Barda still remembered her fondly. Old Min had been King Endon and his friend Jarred's dear old nursemaid, practically raising them from when they were infants. Barda had once upon a time been jealous of these boy's but that was soon replaced with pride. He was proud to be the son of such a trusted servant, trusted enough with the King and Queen's son of all things! He'd grown up wanting to protect both her and her charges, to help keep Deltora peaceful... Then, his world was shattered. She was found dead, apparently she'd _fallen _from the stairs but Barda had not believed that one bit. What he did believe was that it was partially his fault for her death, if only he'd listened to his mother, then maybe she'd still be beside him to this very day.

"I will protect them this time Mother... I promise you this," the man put a fist over his heart as if to prove his sincerity. "I could've kept us together but because of my cowardice, because of my weakness, people died!" He exclaimed, lightning flashing and thunder cracking, the forces of nature bellowing in response to Barda's rage. "No more people will die Mother. I will protect them all, even at the cost of my own life," he unsheathed his sword and held it high. "I shall brave this storm, alone if need be! This sword will slice through the lightning and pierce the very heavens themselves just so you can see Mother! The storm _will _end, the rain _will _stop and there will _always _be hope for another calm day!" With that, the man, who was both a knight without a King and a son without a mother, marched away, ready to face his death.

_Storms come and go, rain pours then stop but even as the clouds cover the sky, always realise, the sun is still there, trying to break free. You only need be patient and wait for a new day then, then you may hope once again. Until that day comes, hold your loved ones close and tell them you love them for not everyone is patient, some may try and brave the storm alone, resulting only in their death. Take caution and listen to my tale, you must wait for the sun no matter how long pours the rain, snow and hail. _


End file.
